FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0527.PDF
AUGUST 28, 1909. The British Naval Dirigible. CONSIDERABLE progress is being made in connection with the huge shed which Messrs. Vickers, Sons and Maxim are having built on the Cavendish Dock at Barrow to accommodate the dirigible, on Zeppelin lines, which is in course of construction for the Admiralty. This dock, which has an area of 146 acres, is just at the mouth of the Walney Channel, and the airship will only have to cross a narrow bank before it will be over the Irish /' Channel. It is interesting to note that the envelope portion of the work is being carried out by Messrs. Short Brothers. Disaster Overtakes the Wellman Airship. ON the 15th inst. Mr. Wellman set out from Spitz- bergen in his airship to reach the North Pole, but he had only gone a couple of hours when an accident necessitated an immediate return. It will be remembered that the trail ropes are in the form of canvas bags used for storing provisions. One of these, hanging from the after end of the ship, broke away and rendered the craft unmanage- able. For some time the crew, consisting of Mr. Wellman, Mr. Vaniman, Mr. Louis Loud and Mr. N. Popoff, endeavoured to rearrange the cargo so as to balance the ship, but their efforts proving futile, they had perforce to return. They were sighted by the " Fram," an Arctic exploring steamer, and towed back to their station in Virgo Bay. Then, as far as can be gathered from the cablegrams, the airship tore from her moorings and eventually fell into the sea. Mr. Wellman announces that he will make the attempt with a larger airship next year, and is already having the airship shed enlarged to receive it. w Zeppelin III" Voyage to Berlin. GREAT preparations have been made in the German capital for the reception of "Zeppelin III," where it is due to arrive from Friedrichshafen to-day, Saturday. The Kaiser and the Imperial Family are to wait for the air- ship's arrival on the Templehof ground, and it was the Kaiser's wish that Count Zeppelin, in view of his recent operation, would join the Imperial party there. The aged inventor, however, has a great desire to greet his Emperor from the deck of his latest craft, and has, there- fore, received permission to go on board at Bitterfeld for the last stage of the journey. • A Contretemps with " Clement-Bayard." ,, L x: AFTER successfully carrying out a series of tests previous to purchase by the Russian Government, the " Clement-Bayard " airship was placed hors de combat by an unfortunate accident on Monday morning. The dirigible had been in the air for about three hours, manoeuvring over Sartrouville and Neuilly, when in view of the rising wind it was decided to land. Forty men caught hold of the guide-ropes, and were hauling the dirigible down when one was hoisted off his feet. Some- one shouted to him to "Let go!" and the others apparently took it as a general order. On being thus released, the airship ascended rapidly and was carried towards the Seine, and M. Capazza, who was in charge, •decided that it would be best to come down on the water. He therefore opened the valve and the airship settled down between the Maisons-Laffitte railway bridge and Sartrouville bridge, those on board saving themselves by swimming ashore. The car was submerged and the envelope was cut in one or two places to allow the gas to escape, but otherwise the airship was very little damaged, and it is hoped that she will be ready to make another trip in a fortnight's time. During the flight last Monday the airship rose to a height of 1,550 metres, which is claimed to be a record altitude for a dirigible. The crew consisted of M. Capazza, Col. Nach (a Russian Army officer), and the mecanicien Delasser. Since her first flights last October a new envelope has been fitted, of the same dimensions as the original one. Italian Military Airships. DURING the past few days the Italian military diri- gible has made several trips, and on the 20th inst. the aeronauts had an exciting experience. The dirigible was manoeuvring over Bracciano Lake at a height of about 600 ft. when it began to fall, and despite all the efforts of the six men on board the descent could not be checked. It gradually drifted ashore and was towed to its shed, when it was found that the valves were defective and had allowed the gas to escape. Although all the ballast was thrown overboard, the weight of the occupants of the car was too much for the remaining gas to sustain. On the previous day the airship was tried over the lake for more than an hour, and on Monday, after being fitted with a new propeller and new gas-valves, it flew for 50 mins. at a height of about 1,800 ft. Spanish Military Dirigible. ENGINEER officers of the Spanish Army are anxiously awaiting at Meaux the final trials of the military dirigible " Espana," which has been built by the Societe" Astra for the Spanish Government. It is promised for delivery on September 25th, and it may be sent to Melilla. In that event it will be the first modern dirigible to have been used in actual warfare. The motor is of 300-h.p., and the car is arranged to carry twelve persons. ® ® ® © N.E.C. BRITISH-BUILT FLIGHT ENGINES. VERY soon now the New Engine Motor Co. expect to be delivering the first of their flight engines, two of which, of 25-h.p. each, are on order for aviators who anticipate attempting the Channel crossing, whilst another of 12-h.p. is being secured by Mr. Jose Weiss. Considerable interest attaches to the N.E.C. attempt to solve the problem of the flight engine by the development of the two- stroke motor, and there is no doubt that practical perfor- mances of these engines will be watched with the closest attention by all interested in the movement. The sizes in which they are building these engines include, as our readers know, a twin-cylinder model of 12-h.p., a 4-cyl. model of 25-h.p., and a 6-cyl. model of 35-h.p., these ratings being the minimum guaranteed power. A Huddersfield Development. MR. C. BINKS, we learn from Huddersfield, is developing the aeroplane business, and has secured some fine premises in that city where he hopes very shortly to have planes ready for sale. 529
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
